When James Garner met Lois Clarke, he knew he had found the one and the woman of his dreams. However, things did not go as planned, and not everyone was happy about their relationship.
Garner was born to Weldon Warren “Bill” Bumgarner and Mildred Bumgarner on April 7, 1928, in Norman, Oklahoma. He was the last of three children.
He had two older brothers named Charles Bumgarner and Jack Bumgarner. He was born in the depression era when things were hard for families.
Garner was only four years old when his mother died from Uremic poisoning after a clumsily done abortion. After her death, the children were taken to different family members’ homes to stay.
The family came back together three years later after their father, Weldon, married the second time to a woman they nicknamed “Red.”
Unfortunately, Red abused the boys verbally and physically, especially Garner, as she would dress him up and tell his brothers to call him Louise. Red reportedly enjoyed beating the children, and their father was not of much help to them.
A portrait of American actor James Garner, on January 4, 1967. | Photo: Getty Images.
Weldon worked as an upholsterer and laid carpets, but he also had alcohol problems. He would come home drunk and make the children sing for him or otherwise get a beating.
Red and Weldon divorced a while later, and he moved to Los Angeles, but Garner stayed back in Oklahoma. He later dropped out of school and did odd jobs.
He also lied about his age to join the Merchant Marine during the ending period of World War II but did not stay for more than a year. He then moved to Los Angeles soon after to live with his father, who was with his third wife.
American actor James Garner and his wife Lois Clarke on March 1,1964. | Photo: Getty Images.
Garner started schooling at Hollywood High, but that did not last either. He dropped out of school because he earned $25 an hour (which was more than his teachers made) working as a model for “Jantzen Bathing Suits.”
The modeling gig did not last long as he was the first Oklahoman to be drafted into the United States Army for the Korean war in 1950.
Garner was wounded on his second day in Korea; a shard of shrapnel hit him. A South Korean soldier reportedly dived on him as he went for a...
